One hundred years ago, the presidential election of 1912 saw the emergence of the strongest third-party candidate in American history when former president Theodore Roosevelt returned to the political arena as the standard bearer of the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party and Eugene Debs made the best showing ever for a Socialist Party candidate. Between 4 September and 27 November, the Society will display personal correspondence, photographs, and political memorabilia to show how Woodrow Wilson eked out a victory in one of the most closely contested presidential elections in Massachusetts history.

Brown Bag Francis Parkman and the Women of New France5 September 2012.Wednesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMKathleen Barker, Northeastern University and MHSParkman amassed thousands of documents while researching his histories of New France. Although he ...

Parkman amassed thousands of documents while researching his histories of New France. Although he focused primarily on the Jesuits, Native Americans, and others, his collections offer fascinating perspectives on the work of French women to create and propagate French culture in the New World.

During the nineteenth century, the woman-slave analogy became an important rhetorical strategy for the women involved in social reform, gaining particular significance in the women's rights and women's suffrage movements. This presentation seeks to investigate how the woman-slave analogy was used when discussing the social, legal and political status of nineteenth-century women.

In 1812, Massachusetts was bitterly divided along partisan political lines and a wave of popular protests greeted the declaration of war on 18 June. The MHS is commemorating the bicentennial with the exhibition Mr. Madison's War: The Controversial War of 1812. The exhibition showcases a number of letters, broadsides, artifacts, and images from the Society's rich collections including a midshipman's log of the USS Constitution describing the ship's first great victory, letters written by John Quincy Adams to his mother while serving as the American minister to Russia, and a brass cannon captured from the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This project examines how mid 19th-century Americans sought to filter the barrage of facts and figures assailing them during the communications revolution. It investigates the development of educational practices related to organizing information, as well as the types of media, such as lectures and reference books, that helped Americans to sort through it all.

The bitter split between the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican Party in 1912 threatened the 30-year friendship of Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt. Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey will explain how the two struggled to remain friends during a divisive political campaigns, and how their close bond was saved, at least in part, by a failed assassination attempt just before the election.

The Spaniards Marcelino Garcia and Manuel Diaz immigrated to the United States as young men, founding what became by the 1930s the most important shipping agency in the Iberian Atlantic world. As ardent Franco supporters and apparent Nazi sympathizers, these agents maintained an elaborate network of support for the Axis during World War II from their perch in New York City. This paper explores why, despite knowing all about this, Allied strategists allowed these men and their transatlantic merchant traffic to remain in play for the duration of the conflict.

Graduate Student Reception20 September 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMAll graduate students and faculty are welcome! Join us to meet colleagues from other universities, ...

All graduate students and faculty are welcome! Join us to meet colleagues from other universities, enjoy delicious refreshments, and learn about the MHS collections and programs that can support you in your work.

Hoping to sidestep popular elections and transcend politics, the framers concocted a bizarre, untried method of selecting the president. Little did they suspect how their system would be gamed, from 1789 through 2012. Ray Raphael’s latest book is Mr. President: How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012). His several other books on the Founding Era include A People’s History of the American Revolution and Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past. A complete list of his works can be found at www.rayraphael.com.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry

MHS Fellows and Members are invited to attend a special preview of the Society's fall exhibition. The evening will begin with remarks by MHS Curator of Art Anne E. Bentley and will be followed by a reception and exhibtion viewing.

In Death Lamented features rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces of mourning jewelry from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. These elegant and evocative objects are presented in the context of their history, use, and meaning, alongside related pieces of material culture.

In Death Lamented features rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces of mourning jewelry from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. These elegant and evocative objects are presented in the context of their history, use, and meaning, alongside related pieces of material culture.

Drawn from the collections of the MHS and Guest Curator Sarah Nehama as well as loans from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Historic New England in Boston, and the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, exhibition highlights include the Adams-Winthrop commemorative seal ring containing the braided hair of John Quincy Adams and a gold memorial ring for Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

A full-color companion book, In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry, available for sale at the MHS, features photographs and descriptions of all of the Nehama and MHS pieces, along with historical and stylistic backgrounds and essays pertaining to cultural practices around death and mourning in England and America.

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Public Program The War of 1812 & the Making of Modern America1 October 2012.Monday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Christian Samito, Boston University School of LawChristian G. Samito will speak about the impact of changes in voting rights, the expansion of ...

Christian G. Samito will speak about the impact of changes in voting rights, the expansion of industry, the defeat of Native American resistance on the Northwestern and Southern borders, and judicial cases of national significance coming out of the War of 1812 and the years directly following. This program is presented in partnership with the USS Constitution Museum as part of the War of 1812 Bicentennial Series. Dr. Samito earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and doctorate in U.S. history from Boston College. His most recent book is Becoming American Under Fire: Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship during the Civil War Era. He presently teaches at the Boston University School of Law and practices law in Boston.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

A century ago, historians of the “imperial school” were fascinated by the fact that every new English colony established during the Restoration period took the form of a proprietorship, that is that they were the personal property of one or a few great men enjoying neo-feudal privileges. This paper suggests that, despite its fusty fixation on constitutional forms, the imperial school was on to something. Proprietaries were not mere institutional devices but central to the kind of empire Charles II and his courtiers thought they were creating.

Historians of early America have turned to almanacs such as those written by Nathaniel Ames and son and Benjamin Franklin for any number of reasons, but these sources have rarely been studied for the main purpose for which they were written: namely, the interpretation and prediction of the weather. Studied as a culturally-constructed discourse, the weather offers historians a window into the religious, philosophical, and experiential worldviews of those who wrote and read about it. Coleman’s interest in almanacs is part of her larger cultural study of weather and the multiple ways it was interpreted and used as a rhetorical tool in eighteenth-century America.

Join us to discuss the process of writing biography with these panelists, who will share their perspectives based on their extensive publications in the fields of classical and popular music.

Tim Riley is an NPR critic and the author of Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music—The Definitive Life (2011). His other books include Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary (1999), Madonna: Illustrated (1992), and Fever: How Rock 'n' Roll Transformed Gender in America (2005).

Jan Swafford is a composer and author. He has written the biography Charles Ives: A Life with Music (1998), which was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award, andJohannes Brahms: A Biography (1999). He is presently completing a biography of Beethoven.

Judith Tick is a leading authority on the history of women in music. She is the author, with Gail Levin, of Aaron Copland’s America: A Cultural Perspective (2000). She is also the author of the biography Ruth Crawford Seeger:A Composer’s Search for American Music (1997) and is currently working on a biography of Ella Fitzgerald. Her book Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion (2008) provides several of the selections for this session’s supplementary readings.

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Special Event, Notice Open House8 October 2012.Monday, 10:00AM - 2:00PMPresented in conjunction with the Fenway Alliance's Opening Our DoorsJoin us as we open our doors as part of the Fenway Alliance's Opening Our Doors, Boston's largest ...

Join us as we open our doors as part of the Fenway Alliance's Opening Our Doors, Boston's largest single day of free arts and cultural events. On this day, the institutions that make up the Fenway Alliance along with community partner organizations welcome neighbors near and far to enjoy an unparalleled array of free activities for everyone. Visit the MHS and view In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry. This exhibition features some of the best examples of mourning jewelry including rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. Also on display is In the Arena: The Presidential Election of 1912 in Massachusetts, an exhibition of personal correspondence, photographs, and political memorabilia that illustrates how Woodrow Wilson eked out a victory in one of the most closely contested presidential elections in Bay State history. The Dowse Library, a preserved, 19th-century gentleman’s library, and the Portrait Gallery will be open throughout the day.

This seminar paper explores how camping embodies the ways in which Americans envisioned access to nature as linked to notions of civic belonging, public culture, and political voice. It is drawn from Young’s book in progress.

Special Event Time with the Treasures11 October 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMThis event is open to all members of the MHS Fund Giving CirclesMembers of the MHS Fund Giving Circles are invited to enjoy an evening of cocktails and "show and ...

Members of the MHS Fund Giving Circles are invited to enjoy an evening of cocktails and "show and tell" of rarely seen treasures with Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey. Registration is required; contact Katy Capó at 617-646-0518 or kcapo@masshist.org.

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

One of the most significant urban developments of the 1950s and 60s, the Prudential Center anchors the Boston skyline with its tall gray tower. It is also a beacon of a mid-century moment when insurance companies like Prudential deployed buildings in cities to symbolize and advertise their intangible product: financial security. The Prudential’s story also exemplifies the transition from the nineteenth century metropolis to the post-industrial city organized around highways and easy parking. In his new book, Insuring the City: The Prudential Center and the Postwar Urban Landscape, Yale architectural historian Elihu Rubin tells the full story of "The Pru," placing it in its political, economic, and architectural contexts and providing new insights into urban renewal in postwar America. Elihu Rubin is Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at Yale. He received a doctorate in architecture and a master’s in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

This essay focuses on a sex scandal surrounding the only known instance in the early U.S. of a clergyman accused of making same-sex sexual advances. The scandal points to the contested meanings of Christian manliness and the gendered construction of male networks of gossip, sex talk, and sex reform, and addresses the crucial historical question of how to distinguish among intimacy, love, spirituality, and sexual desire.

Mr. Severy will describe and illustrate the history and beauty of this Dorchester cemetery, founded in the 1660s. Mr. Severy is photographer, secretary, and historian of the Dorchester Historical Society and has done extensive research on the occupants of Cedar Grove. Copies of his latest cemetery guide will be given to all attendees.

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

From 22 to 29 October, join fellow travelers on a voyage aboard the American-flagged Yorktown to some of America’s loveliest waterways and most important historic sites along the shores of the Chesapeake and the rivers that feed into it. Stops include Annapolis, Md.; St. Michaels, Md.; Richmond, Va.; and Mt. Vernon in Alexandria, Va. Guest lecturer Peter Drummey, the Stephen T. Riley Librarian at the MHS, will share his knowledge of the history of the Chesapeake region through onboard lectures and discussions.

A historian of Dutch New York, Ms. Wolfe will discuss the turbulent and intrepid 1650s life of Elizabeth Winthrop Feake Hallett in America. Her first husband drowned, her second went insane, and the Puritans wanted her dead for marrying her third. Hear how John Wnthrop, Jr., saved his cousin's life by enforcing Stuyvesant's Dutch rule over this English woman within Southwestern Connecticut.

Wolfe's documented history, Insubordinate Spirit: A True Story of Life and Loss in Earliest America 1610-1665, draws deeply from across all volumes of the Society's Winthrop Papers, including John Winthrop, Sr.'s Journal. This event officially launches this new publication.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

This project is dedicated to documenting and preserving the tile vaulted works of the Guastavino Company. In lieu of reading a paper, participants will tour the exhibition “Palaces for the People” with the presenter, and a discussion will follow.

Special Event Parkman House Tour25 October 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMSpecial Event for Members of the MHS Fund, Belknap through Adams CirclesMembers of the MHS Fund Belknap through Adams Circles are invited to tour the Parkman House on ...

Members of the MHS Fund Belknap through Adams Circles are invited to tour the Parkman House on Beacon Hill. Built in the early 19th century by Cornelius Coolidge, the house was later given to the city by renowned historian Francis Parkman. Enjoy a unique opportunity to see this significant building and visit some of the MHS treasures that are housed there. A reception will follow the tour. Registration is required; contact Katy Capó at 617-646-0518 or kcapo@masshist.org.

From 22 to 29 October, join fellow travelers on a voyage aboard the American-flagged Yorktown to some of America’s loveliest waterways and most important historic sites along the shores of the Chesapeake and the rivers that feed into it. Stops include Annapolis, Md.; St. Michaels, Md.; Richmond, Va.; and Mt. Vernon in Alexandria, Va. Guest lecturer Peter Drummey, the Stephen T. Riley Librarian at the MHS, will share his knowledge of the history of the Chesapeake region through onboard lectures and discussions.

Notice, Building Closed Library and Galleries Closed29 October 2012.Monday, all dayDue to predictions of severe weather in the Boston area the MHS library and exhibition galleries ...

Due to predictions of severe weather in the Boston area the MHS library and exhibition galleries will be closed on Monday, 29 October 2012. Please check website to see status of library and galleries for Tuesday, 30 October on Monday evening.

Though ideas of nationalism were directed to a much larger environment, and influenced by broader cultural currents, they were cultivated at the local level. As part of a dissertation that examines the local productions of nationalism, this project engages how parochial religious communities, especially patriotic sermons, influenced Americans' ideas of their country.

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This project assesses American relics—publicly significant mortal remains and related artifacts—that have emerged and persisted since the colonial period. American Relics will analyze the evolving meanings and deployments of American mementos mori and other potent objects. Its interpretive narrative focuses attention on exemplary relics—whether ordinary or extraordinary—placing them in a broader context, using their histories to analyze the means through which Americans have used them to express and authorize their public words by making those words (literally) concrete.

This history of rail trails highlights the increasingly fractious relationship among urban constituencies and sheds light on the meaning of recreational trails as spaces of potential conflict between groups of walkers, landowners, policymakers, and residents.

In an intimate and relaxed walk through the exhibition In Death Lamented, co-curators Anne Bentley and Sarah Nehama will discuss their favorite pieces, and Ms. Nehama will relay some of the adventures she encountered while building her private collection.

Gene Dattel, author of Cotton and Race in the Making of America, will bring the relationship of cotton and race out of the regional shadows into the forefront of American history. The powerful dynamic of cotton, the first truly global business, produced catastrophic racial consequences and performed a critical nation-building economic impact. Dattel casts light upon today’s economic and racial issues and financial policies. He explains why the antebellum North provides the key to the tragedy of African American history from Reconstruction to the present.

Gene Dattel grew up in the cotton country of the Mississippi Delta and studied history at Yale and law at Vanderbilt. He then embarked on a twenty-year career in financial capital markets. Mr Dattel is now a New York/Connecticut-based financial historian who lectures widely. Additional information may be obtained at genedattel.com.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Due to circumstances beyond his control, Niall Ferguson will no longer be able to moderate the talk.

Public Program, Author Talk Queen of America: In Search of the Real Dolley Madison20 November 2012.Tuesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMCatherine Allgor, University of California, RiversideDespite her role as an influential first Lady, Dolley Madison left no autobiographical record of her ...

Despite her role as an influential first Lady, Dolley Madison left no autobiographical record of her experiences as a woman or as a socio-political figure. In The Queen of America, acclaimed author Catherine Allgor along with other Madison historians offer the annotated memoir of Dolley from her niece, Mary Cutts. Revealing much about public women in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Allgor also offers an example of the ways in which historians can recover the lives of these "vanishing ladies."

Granting considerable insight into the figures of both Madison and her ambitious niece, whose memoir touches upon nineteenth-century femininity and historical relevancy as well as Dolley’s own life and times, The Queen of America assesses, contextualizes, and comments upon the two drafts of Cutts’s biography. Including a newly annotated transcription, the book evaluates the adequacy, accuracy, and general utility of Cutts’s memoir as a historical and biographical source.

As noted by Cokie Roberts in the book’s foreword, in the midst of a “detective story” of this historical puzzle, Allgor acts as both guide and investigator into the information that was provided—and withheld—by Cutts.

Catherine Allgor, Professor of History and Presidential Chair at the University of California, Riverside, is the author of A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation and Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government.

This seminar paper chronicles the rise, fall, and re-emergence of immigrant voting. It examines the arguments for and against noncitizen voting—as well as proponents and opponents—and its impact on policy and American political development.

From sidewalks to streetcars, public space was a significant battleground in the post-Civil War urban south. With a focus on Richmond and New Orleans, this talk recaptures the vibrant movements for citizenship without regard to race or status, as well as the anxieties over sexual histories of racial uncertainty that fueled their political opposition.

One hundred years ago, the presidential election of 1912 saw the emergence of the strongest third-party candidate in American history when former president Theodore Roosevelt returned to the political arena as the standard bearer of the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party and Eugene Debs made the best showing ever for a Socialist Party candidate. Between 4 September and 27 November, the Society will display personal correspondence, photographs, and political memorabilia to show how Woodrow Wilson eked out a victory in one of the most closely contested presidential elections in Massachusetts history.

Public Program The Confederacy in History, Myth, & Memory27 November 2012.Tuesday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Waite Rawls, Museum of the ConfederacyThe Confederacy in history, myth, and memory continues to be a topic that fascinates a global ...

The Confederacy in history, myth, and memory continues to be a topic that fascinates a global audience. Why? How has the memory developed from the eras of the War, the Lost Cause, Civil Rights, and today? Waite Rawls, President and CEO of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, will address these and related questions as he demonstrates how this history is relevant in the 21st century, especially its complications and nuances.

Mr. Rawls spent 30 years as an investment banker in New York and Chicago before returning to his native Virginia 8 years ago. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and has a JD and MBA from the University of Virginia.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Member Event Historical Happy Hour27 November 2012.Tuesday, 8:00PM - 9:00PMPlease RSVPSpecial Event for MHS Associate MembersJoin us for our first historical happy hour! Associate Members are invited to gather after the talk ...

Join us for our first historical happy hour! Associate Members are invited to gather after the talk by Waite Rawls to enjoy a cocktail and continue the discussion. Immediately following the talk, we will walk to The Hawthorne in Kenmore Square for a Southern cocktail and some delightful discourse.

The Confederacy in history, myth, and memory continues to be a topic that fascinates a global audience. Why? How has the memory developed from the eras of the War, the Lost Cause, and Civil Rights? Mr. Rawls will address these and related questions as he demonstrates how this history is relevant in the 21st century, especially its complications and nuances.

Special Event Cocktails with Clio30 November 2012.Friday, 6:00PM - 9:00PMPlease RSVPThe third annual Cocktails with Clio will take place on 30 November 2012, from 6 to 9 PM. Named for ...

The third annual Cocktails with Clio will take place on 30 November 2012, from 6 to 9 PM. Named for the muse of history, this festive evening celebrates American history and the 221-year-old mission of the Society. Following an elegant cocktail buffet at the Society’s building, guests will proceed to the nearby Harvard Club for dessert and a conversation with cultural critic, Harvard scholar, host of PBS series Finding Your Roots, and MHS Overseer Henry Louis Gates, Jr. As the evening progresses, Professor Gates will discuss his approach to writing and teaching history, his interest in tracing our nation’s roots through individual stories, and how he has used MHS collections in his research.

Tickets cost $200 per person. All net proceeds from the event will support the Society's outreach efforts.

The MHS is pleased to offer the following event sponsorships:

$5,000 - Clio’s Circle• Thank you in the event invitation and program book.• Complimentary valet parking for three vehicles.• Six tickets to the event.• Six reserved seats at the front of the hall for the speaking program.• Six tickets to the V.I.P. champagne pre-reception with special guest Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

$2,500 - Patrons of the Muse• Thank you in the event invitation and program book.• Complimentary valet parking for two vehicles.• Four tickets to the event.• Four reserved seats at the front of the hall for the speaking program.

$1,000 - Friends of the Muse • Thank you in the event invitation and program book.• Complimentary valet parking for one vehicle.• Two tickets to the event.• Two reserved seats at the front of the hall for the speaking program.

For more information about becoming a sponsor, please contact Carol Knauff at cknauff@masshist.org or 617-646-0554.

ExhibitionIn the Arena: The Presidential Election of 1912 in Massachusetts4 September 2012 to 27 November 2012this event is freeMonday through Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM

One hundred years ago, the presidential election of 1912 saw the emergence of the strongest third-party candidate in American history when former president Theodore Roosevelt returned to the political arena as the standard bearer of the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party and Eugene Debs made the best showing ever for a Socialist Party candidate. Between 4 September and 27 November, the Society will display personal correspondence, photographs, and political memorabilia to show how Woodrow Wilson eked out a victory in one of the most closely contested presidential elections in Massachusetts history.

Brown BagFrancis Parkman and the Women of New France5 September 2012.Wednesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMthis event is freeKathleen Barker, Northeastern University and MHS

Parkman amassed thousands of documents while researching his histories of New France. Although he focused primarily on the Jesuits, Native Americans, and others, his collections offer fascinating perspectives on the work of French women to create and propagate French culture in the New World.

Brown BagRhetoric of the "Lady Emancipators": The Woman-Slave Analogy in Nineteenth-Century Social Reform7 September 2012.Friday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMthis event is freeAna Stevenson, University of Queensland

During the nineteenth century, the woman-slave analogy became an important rhetorical strategy for the women involved in social reform, gaining particular significance in the women's rights and women's suffrage movements. This presentation seeks to investigate how the woman-slave analogy was used when discussing the social, legal and political status of nineteenth-century women.

ExhibitionMr. Madison's War: The Controversial War of 18128 September 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 4:00PMthis event is freeMonday through Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM

In 1812, Massachusetts was bitterly divided along partisan political lines and a wave of popular protests greeted the declaration of war on 18 June. The MHS is commemorating the bicentennial with the exhibition Mr. Madison's War: The Controversial War of 1812. The exhibition showcases a number of letters, broadsides, artifacts, and images from the Society's rich collections including a midshipman's log of the USS Constitution describing the ship's first great victory, letters written by John Quincy Adams to his mother while serving as the American minister to Russia, and a brass cannon captured from the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS8 September 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is free

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This project examines how mid 19th-century Americans sought to filter the barrage of facts and figures assailing them during the communications revolution. It investigates the development of educational practices related to organizing information, as well as the types of media, such as lectures and reference books, that helped Americans to sort through it all.

The bitter split between the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican Party in 1912 threatened the 30-year friendship of Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt. Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey will explain how the two struggled to remain friends during a divisive political campaigns, and how their close bond was saved, at least in part, by a failed assassination attempt just before the election.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS15 September 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is freeclose

Immigration and Urban History SeminarDevil’s Bargain: New York City’s Premier Spanish Shipping Agents and Allied Strategy during World War II18 September 2012.Tuesday, 5:15PM - 7:30PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Brooke L. Blower, Boston UniversityComment: Christopher Schmidt-Nowara, Tufts University

The Spaniards Marcelino Garcia and Manuel Diaz immigrated to the United States as young men, founding what became by the 1930s the most important shipping agency in the Iberian Atlantic world. As ardent Franco supporters and apparent Nazi sympathizers, these agents maintained an elaborate network of support for the Axis during World War II from their perch in New York City. This paper explores why, despite knowing all about this, Allied strategists allowed these men and their transatlantic merchant traffic to remain in play for the duration of the conflict.

All graduate students and faculty are welcome! Join us to meet colleagues from other universities, enjoy delicious refreshments, and learn about the MHS collections and programs that can support you in your work.

Public Program, Author TalkThe Curious Creation of the Electoral College: What the Founders Didn't Want and Didn't See Coming24 September 2012.Monday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMPlease RSVPregistration required at no costPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Ray Raphael

Hoping to sidestep popular elections and transcend politics, the framers concocted a bizarre, untried method of selecting the president. Little did they suspect how their system would be gamed, from 1789 through 2012. Ray Raphael’s latest book is Mr. President: How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012). His several other books on the Founding Era include A People’s History of the American Revolution and Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past. A complete list of his works can be found at www.rayraphael.com.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Member Event, Special EventIn Death Lamented: Preview Reception27 September 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMPlease RSVPregistration required at no cost

In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry

MHS Fellows and Members are invited to attend a special preview of the Society's fall exhibition. The evening will begin with remarks by MHS Curator of Art Anne E. Bentley and will be followed by a reception and exhibtion viewing.

In Death Lamented features rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces of mourning jewelry from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. These elegant and evocative objects are presented in the context of their history, use, and meaning, alongside related pieces of material culture.

ExhibitionIn Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry28 September 2012 to 31 January 2013this event is freeMonday through Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM

In Death Lamented features rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces of mourning jewelry from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. These elegant and evocative objects are presented in the context of their history, use, and meaning, alongside related pieces of material culture.

Drawn from the collections of the MHS and Guest Curator Sarah Nehama as well as loans from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Historic New England in Boston, and the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, exhibition highlights include the Adams-Winthrop commemorative seal ring containing the braided hair of John Quincy Adams and a gold memorial ring for Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

A full-color companion book, In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry, available for sale at the MHS, features photographs and descriptions of all of the Nehama and MHS pieces, along with historical and stylistic backgrounds and essays pertaining to cultural practices around death and mourning in England and America.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS29 September 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is free

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Public ProgramThe War of 1812 & the Making of Modern America1 October 2012.Monday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMregistration required at no costPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Christian Samito, Boston University School of Law

Christian G. Samito will speak about the impact of changes in voting rights, the expansion of industry, the defeat of Native American resistance on the Northwestern and Southern borders, and judicial cases of national significance coming out of the War of 1812 and the years directly following. This program is presented in partnership with the USS Constitution Museum as part of the War of 1812 Bicentennial Series. Dr. Samito earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and doctorate in U.S. history from Boston College. His most recent book is Becoming American Under Fire: Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship during the Civil War Era. He presently teaches at the Boston University School of Law and practices law in Boston.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Early American History SeminarColonial Proprieties: Atlantic Possession in England’s Restoration Era2 October 2012.Tuesday, 5:15PM - 7:30PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Daniel K. Richter, University of PennsylvaniaComment: Steven Pincus, Yale University

A century ago, historians of the “imperial school” were fascinated by the fact that every new English colony established during the Restoration period took the form of a proprietorship, that is that they were the personal property of one or a few great men enjoying neo-feudal privileges. This paper suggests that, despite its fusty fixation on constitutional forms, the imperial school was on to something. Proprietaries were not mere institutional devices but central to the kind of empire Charles II and his courtiers thought they were creating.

Brown Bag“Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise”: Popular Almanacs and Weather Cosmology in Mid-eighteenth Century America3 October 2012.Wednesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMthis event is freeLauri Coleman, College of William and Mary

Historians of early America have turned to almanacs such as those written by Nathaniel Ames and son and Benjamin Franklin for any number of reasons, but these sources have rarely been studied for the main purpose for which they were written: namely, the interpretation and prediction of the weather. Studied as a culturally-constructed discourse, the weather offers historians a window into the religious, philosophical, and experiential worldviews of those who wrote and read about it. Coleman’s interest in almanacs is part of her larger cultural study of weather and the multiple ways it was interpreted and used as a rhetorical tool in eighteenth-century America.

Join us to discuss the process of writing biography with these panelists, who will share their perspectives based on their extensive publications in the fields of classical and popular music.

Tim Riley is an NPR critic and the author of Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music—The Definitive Life (2011). His other books include Hard Rain: A Dylan Commentary (1999), Madonna: Illustrated (1992), and Fever: How Rock 'n' Roll Transformed Gender in America (2005).

Jan Swafford is a composer and author. He has written the biography Charles Ives: A Life with Music (1998), which was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award, andJohannes Brahms: A Biography (1999). He is presently completing a biography of Beethoven.

Judith Tick is a leading authority on the history of women in music. She is the author, with Gail Levin, of Aaron Copland’s America: A Cultural Perspective (2000). She is also the author of the biography Ruth Crawford Seeger:A Composer’s Search for American Music (1997) and is currently working on a biography of Ella Fitzgerald. Her book Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion (2008) provides several of the selections for this session’s supplementary readings.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS6 October 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is free

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Join us as we open our doors as part of the Fenway Alliance's Opening Our Doors, Boston's largest single day of free arts and cultural events. On this day, the institutions that make up the Fenway Alliance along with community partner organizations welcome neighbors near and far to enjoy an unparalleled array of free activities for everyone. Visit the MHS and view In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry. This exhibition features some of the best examples of mourning jewelry including rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. Also on display is In the Arena: The Presidential Election of 1912 in Massachusetts, an exhibition of personal correspondence, photographs, and political memorabilia that illustrates how Woodrow Wilson eked out a victory in one of the most closely contested presidential elections in Bay State history. The Dowse Library, a preserved, 19th-century gentleman’s library, and the Portrait Gallery will be open throughout the day.

Environmental History Seminar"Guests of the Nation": American Camping and Designs for Public Nature, 1920s-'40s9 October 2012.Tuesday, 5:15PM - 7:30PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Phoebe S. K. Young, University of Colorado at BoulderComment: James C. O'Connell, National Park Service

This seminar paper explores how camping embodies the ways in which Americans envisioned access to nature as linked to notions of civic belonging, public culture, and political voice. It is drawn from Young’s book in progress.

Special EventTime with the Treasures11 October 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMregistration required at no costThis event is open to all members of the MHS Fund Giving Circles

Members of the MHS Fund Giving Circles are invited to enjoy an evening of cocktails and "show and tell" of rarely seen treasures with Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey. Registration is required; contact Katy Capó at 617-646-0518 or kcapo@masshist.org.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS13 October 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is free

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Public Program, Author TalkInsuring the City: The Prudential Center & the Postwar Urban Landscape17 October 2012.Wednesday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMregistration required at no costPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Elihu Rubin, Yale School of Architecture

One of the most significant urban developments of the 1950s and 60s, the Prudential Center anchors the Boston skyline with its tall gray tower. It is also a beacon of a mid-century moment when insurance companies like Prudential deployed buildings in cities to symbolize and advertise their intangible product: financial security. The Prudential’s story also exemplifies the transition from the nineteenth century metropolis to the post-industrial city organized around highways and easy parking. In his new book, Insuring the City: The Prudential Center and the Postwar Urban Landscape, Yale architectural historian Elihu Rubin tells the full story of "The Pru," placing it in its political, economic, and architectural contexts and providing new insights into urban renewal in postwar America. Elihu Rubin is Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at Yale. He received a doctorate in architecture and a master’s in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

History of Women and Gender SeminarMale Same-Sex Intimacy and a Clergy Sex Scandal in Early 19th-Century New England18 October 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Location: Schlesinger LibraryBruce Dorsey, Swarthmore CollegeComment: Aaron S. Lecklider, University of Massachusetts—Boston

This essay focuses on a sex scandal surrounding the only known instance in the early U.S. of a clergyman accused of making same-sex sexual advances. The scandal points to the contested meanings of Christian manliness and the gendered construction of male networks of gossip, sex talk, and sex reform, and addresses the crucial historical question of how to distinguish among intimacy, love, spirituality, and sexual desire.

Mr. Severy will describe and illustrate the history and beauty of this Dorchester cemetery, founded in the 1660s. Mr. Severy is photographer, secretary, and historian of the Dorchester Historical Society and has done extensive research on the occupants of Cedar Grove. Copies of his latest cemetery guide will be given to all attendees.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS20 October 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is free

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

MHS Tour, Special EventCruise the Historic Towns and Sites of the Chesapeake Bay22 October 2012 to 29 October 2012registration required

From 22 to 29 October, join fellow travelers on a voyage aboard the American-flagged Yorktown to some of America’s loveliest waterways and most important historic sites along the shores of the Chesapeake and the rivers that feed into it. Stops include Annapolis, Md.; St. Michaels, Md.; Richmond, Va.; and Mt. Vernon in Alexandria, Va. Guest lecturer Peter Drummey, the Stephen T. Riley Librarian at the MHS, will share his knowledge of the history of the Chesapeake region through onboard lectures and discussions.

A historian of Dutch New York, Ms. Wolfe will discuss the turbulent and intrepid 1650s life of Elizabeth Winthrop Feake Hallett in America. Her first husband drowned, her second went insane, and the Puritans wanted her dead for marrying her third. Hear how John Wnthrop, Jr., saved his cousin's life by enforcing Stuyvesant's Dutch rule over this English woman within Southwestern Connecticut.

Wolfe's documented history, Insubordinate Spirit: A True Story of Life and Loss in Earliest America 1610-1665, draws deeply from across all volumes of the Society's Winthrop Papers, including John Winthrop, Sr.'s Journal. This event officially launches this new publication.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Immigration and Urban History SeminarNOTE: AT THE BPL/ Palaces for the People: Guastavino and America’s Great Public Spaces23 October 2012.Tuesday, 5:15PM - 7:30PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Location: Boston Public LibraryJohn Ochsendorf, The Guastavino Project, MIT

This project is dedicated to documenting and preserving the tile vaulted works of the Guastavino Company. In lieu of reading a paper, participants will tour the exhibition “Palaces for the People” with the presenter, and a discussion will follow.

Special EventParkman House Tour25 October 2012.Thursday, 6:00PM - 8:00PMregistration required at no costSpecial Event for Members of the MHS Fund, Belknap through Adams Circles

Members of the MHS Fund Belknap through Adams Circles are invited to tour the Parkman House on Beacon Hill. Built in the early 19th century by Cornelius Coolidge, the house was later given to the city by renowned historian Francis Parkman. Enjoy a unique opportunity to see this significant building and visit some of the MHS treasures that are housed there. A reception will follow the tour. Registration is required; contact Katy Capó at 617-646-0518 or kcapo@masshist.org.

Notice, Building ClosedLibrary and Galleries Closed29 October 2012.Monday, all day

Due to predictions of severe weather in the Boston area the MHS library and exhibition galleries will be closed on Monday, 29 October 2012. Please check website to see status of library and galleries for Tuesday, 30 October on Monday evening.

Notice, Building ClosedLibrary & Exhibitions Closed30 October 2012.Tuesday, all dayclose

Brown BagThe Theology of Citizenship: Local Preachers and the Production of Nationalism in Early America31 October 2012.Wednesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMthis event is freeBenjamin Park, University of Cambridge

Though ideas of nationalism were directed to a much larger environment, and influenced by broader cultural currents, they were cultivated at the local level. As part of a dissertation that examines the local productions of nationalism, this project engages how parochial religious communities, especially patriotic sermons, influenced Americans' ideas of their country.

MHS TourThe History and Collections of the MHS3 November 2012.Saturday, 10:00AM - 11:30AMthis event is free

Join us for a tour of the Society's public rooms. Led by an MHS staff member or docent, the tour touches on the history and collections of the MHS and lasts approximately 90 minutes.

The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Brown BagAmerican Relics and the Material Politics of Public Memory7 November 2012.Wednesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMthis event is freeMatthew Dennis, University of Oregon

This project assesses American relics—publicly significant mortal remains and related artifacts—that have emerged and persisted since the colonial period. American Relics will analyze the evolving meanings and deployments of American mementos mori and other potent objects. Its interpretive narrative focuses attention on exemplary relics—whether ordinary or extraordinary—placing them in a broader context, using their histories to analyze the means through which Americans have used them to express and authorize their public words by making those words (literally) concrete.

Environmental History Seminar“Many Bulldozers are Drooling”: The Urban Origins of Rail Trails13 November 2012.Tuesday, 5:15PM - 7:30PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Silas Chamberlin, Lehigh UniversityComment: Julia O’Brien, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

This history of rail trails highlights the increasingly fractious relationship among urban constituencies and sheds light on the meaning of recreational trails as spaces of potential conflict between groups of walkers, landowners, policymakers, and residents.

In an intimate and relaxed walk through the exhibition In Death Lamented, co-curators Anne Bentley and Sarah Nehama will discuss their favorite pieces, and Ms. Nehama will relay some of the adventures she encountered while building her private collection.

Public ProgramCotton & Race in the Making of Massachusetts & America19 November 2012.Monday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMregistration required at no costPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Gene Dattel

Gene Dattel, author of Cotton and Race in the Making of America, will bring the relationship of cotton and race out of the regional shadows into the forefront of American history. The powerful dynamic of cotton, the first truly global business, produced catastrophic racial consequences and performed a critical nation-building economic impact. Dattel casts light upon today’s economic and racial issues and financial policies. He explains why the antebellum North provides the key to the tragedy of African American history from Reconstruction to the present.

Gene Dattel grew up in the cotton country of the Mississippi Delta and studied history at Yale and law at Vanderbilt. He then embarked on a twenty-year career in financial capital markets. Mr Dattel is now a New York/Connecticut-based financial historian who lectures widely. Additional information may be obtained at genedattel.com.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Due to circumstances beyond his control, Niall Ferguson will no longer be able to moderate the talk.

Public Program, Author TalkQueen of America: In Search of the Real Dolley Madison20 November 2012.Tuesday, 12:00PM - 1:00PMthis event is freeCatherine Allgor, University of California, Riverside

Despite her role as an influential first Lady, Dolley Madison left no autobiographical record of her experiences as a woman or as a socio-political figure. In The Queen of America, acclaimed author Catherine Allgor along with other Madison historians offer the annotated memoir of Dolley from her niece, Mary Cutts. Revealing much about public women in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Allgor also offers an example of the ways in which historians can recover the lives of these "vanishing ladies."

Granting considerable insight into the figures of both Madison and her ambitious niece, whose memoir touches upon nineteenth-century femininity and historical relevancy as well as Dolley’s own life and times, The Queen of America assesses, contextualizes, and comments upon the two drafts of Cutts’s biography. Including a newly annotated transcription, the book evaluates the adequacy, accuracy, and general utility of Cutts’s memoir as a historical and biographical source.

As noted by Cokie Roberts in the book’s foreword, in the midst of a “detective story” of this historical puzzle, Allgor acts as both guide and investigator into the information that was provided—and withheld—by Cutts.

Catherine Allgor, Professor of History and Presidential Chair at the University of California, Riverside, is the author of A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation and Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government.

Immigration and Urban History SeminarPolitical Rights in the Age of Migration: The Case of Immigrant Voting in the U.S.20 November 2012.Tuesday, 5:15PM - 7:30PMSeminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required.Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.Ron Hayduk, City University of New YorkComment: Alexander Keyssar, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

This seminar paper chronicles the rise, fall, and re-emergence of immigrant voting. It examines the arguments for and against noncitizen voting—as well as proponents and opponents—and its impact on policy and American political development.

From sidewalks to streetcars, public space was a significant battleground in the post-Civil War urban south. With a focus on Richmond and New Orleans, this talk recaptures the vibrant movements for citizenship without regard to race or status, as well as the anxieties over sexual histories of racial uncertainty that fueled their political opposition.

Public ProgramThe Confederacy in History, Myth, & Memory27 November 2012.Tuesday, 6:00PM - 7:30PMregistration required at no costPre-Talk Reception at 5:30 P.M.Waite Rawls, Museum of the Confederacy

The Confederacy in history, myth, and memory continues to be a topic that fascinates a global audience. Why? How has the memory developed from the eras of the War, the Lost Cause, Civil Rights, and today? Waite Rawls, President and CEO of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, will address these and related questions as he demonstrates how this history is relevant in the 21st century, especially its complications and nuances.

Mr. Rawls spent 30 years as an investment banker in New York and Chicago before returning to his native Virginia 8 years ago. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and has a JD and MBA from the University of Virginia.

Reservations requested. To RSVP call 617-646-0560 or click on the ticket icon above.

Member EventHistorical Happy Hour27 November 2012.Tuesday, 8:00PM - 9:00PMPlease RSVPregistration required at no costSpecial Event for MHS Associate Members

Join us for our first historical happy hour! Associate Members are invited to gather after the talk by Waite Rawls to enjoy a cocktail and continue the discussion. Immediately following the talk, we will walk to The Hawthorne in Kenmore Square for a Southern cocktail and some delightful discourse.

The Confederacy in history, myth, and memory continues to be a topic that fascinates a global audience. Why? How has the memory developed from the eras of the War, the Lost Cause, and Civil Rights? Mr. Rawls will address these and related questions as he demonstrates how this history is relevant in the 21st century, especially its complications and nuances.

The third annual Cocktails with Clio will take place on 30 November 2012, from 6 to 9 PM. Named for the muse of history, this festive evening celebrates American history and the 221-year-old mission of the Society. Following an elegant cocktail buffet at the Society’s building, guests will proceed to the nearby Harvard Club for dessert and a conversation with cultural critic, Harvard scholar, host of PBS series Finding Your Roots, and MHS Overseer Henry Louis Gates, Jr. As the evening progresses, Professor Gates will discuss his approach to writing and teaching history, his interest in tracing our nation’s roots through individual stories, and how he has used MHS collections in his research.

Tickets cost $200 per person. All net proceeds from the event will support the Society's outreach efforts.

The MHS is pleased to offer the following event sponsorships:

$5,000 - Clio’s Circle• Thank you in the event invitation and program book.• Complimentary valet parking for three vehicles.• Six tickets to the event.• Six reserved seats at the front of the hall for the speaking program.• Six tickets to the V.I.P. champagne pre-reception with special guest Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

$2,500 - Patrons of the Muse• Thank you in the event invitation and program book.• Complimentary valet parking for two vehicles.• Four tickets to the event.• Four reserved seats at the front of the hall for the speaking program.

$1,000 - Friends of the Muse • Thank you in the event invitation and program book.• Complimentary valet parking for one vehicle.• Two tickets to the event.• Two reserved seats at the front of the hall for the speaking program.

For more information about becoming a sponsor, please contact Carol Knauff at cknauff@masshist.org or 617-646-0554.